


From A Certain Child's Point of View: The Sin

by Lailuva



Series: From The Child's Point of View [3]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate POV, Baby Yoda POV, Baby Yoda is not (permanently) harmed in this fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, but bad things do happen to him onscreen in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva
Summary: He and his new Dad have faced down big buildings, mean people, and a scary monster.  Now they're off to a new place to face challenges even scarier than those on Arvala-7.Part of a series of The Mandalorian from Baby Yoda's POV.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: From The Child's Point of View [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592260
Comments: 227
Kudos: 600





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that the warning in the tags has changed from Implied/Referenced Child Abuse to Child Abuse. I will put a warning in the beginning notes of the relevant chapter.

It’s the streaming blue lines out the window that finally jog his memory. Space. He’s in space! So he must be in a spaceship!

He was in one once, long ago. The memory is fuzzy - it was before Yarull, but after his first Dad, the one with gentle hands and green skin - but it’s enough to make him realize he and his new Dad are going to a new place. He hopes this one is as fun as the last one.

He sits up in the pod to look around. He loves all the bright lights; they blink and cast colors on Helmet’s shiny helmet and shoulder, which are already tinted blue from the streaming starlines out the window. When he stands up, he sees a picture of the shiny silver building on the screen that Dad is looking at, though it’s drawn in blue lines, not silver. Is that what they’re in? The building isn’t a building but a spaceship?

A flash of silver catches his eye, and he looks away from the blinking lights and buttons to see a ball, the prettiest shiniest ball he’s ever seen! It glints silver just like Dad’s helmet and Dad’s spaceship, but this is small enough to fit in his hand. He wants it!

He is about to get out when Dad turns around. He sits down; Dad usually wants him to stay in the pod, though Dad won’t pull his ears or hit him if he doesn’t.  _ Ball? _ he asks.

“You hungry?” asks Dad.

He wants the ball, but he won’t say no to food either. Especially since Dad lets him have yummy food like the frog.

Dad pokes a button on his pod and the pod trails after him as he heads into another room. Dad pulls a small table down out from the wall before getting a cup, plate, silvery package, and a bottle out of a cabinet behind where the table had been. He pours some water into the cup and tears open the package to shake a brown rectangle onto a plate before breaking it apart into little pieces.

He’s halfway out of the pod and onto the table when Dad looks up; he hesitates, but Dad only sighs and lifts him out of the pod and sets him onto the table before pushing the plate over to him. “Here you go,” Dad says.

He stares at the little brown pieces. It smells kind of like the food Yarull and the others would eat, but they never gave it to him. It does  _ not _ smell like frog.

“It’s a ration bar. It’s food.” Dad picks up one of the little brown pieces and holds it out. He sniffs at it cautiously, unsure, but when Dad presses it to his lips he accepts it.

Blech! It’s disgusting! He spits it out with a squawk of disgust.

Dad laughs and happy feelings spike in him, but he quickly cuts himself off and makes them go away. “It’s just a ration bar.” He takes one of the little pieces and puts it under his helmet. He can hear Dad bite and chew it and he makes a face. “It’s food,” says Dad.

He’s not sure why Dad is doing this to him, but he doesn’t like it.  _ Frog is food! _ he tells Dad. Dad holds out another brown piece but he shakes his head.  _ Yucky! _

Dad sighs. “Fine.” Dad holds out the cup of water instead, tipping it to his mouth. This he accepts; he’s thirsty and snatches the cup from Dad to hold it himself. Dad lets him, and he drinks until there’s no more. Dad takes the cup and the plate then, leaving him only the brown piece he’d spit out. Dad turns away, and he can’t see what Dad is doing with the cup and plate. Dad takes the bottle too and he can hear water pouring, and something crunching, and then Dad gets a little cylinder out of his cabinet and adds that to whatever he’s doing too.

Finally Dad turns around, handing him the cup. He looks inside and inside is a brown mush. This is more familiar; Yarull gave him something like that sometimes.

“Try this,” says Dad, and he scoops some mush out with a spoon and holds it out to him.

Cautiously, he takes a bite. It’s not as tasty as frog, not at all, but it’s better than the brown pieces. His middle growls at him, and he decides he might as well eat it.

“There you go,” says Dad as he gives him another spoonful, and another. Now his middle is demanding more, so he grabs the spoon from Dad and tries to scoop the mush just like him. The spoon is too big though, clumsy in his hands, and he grumbles in frustration. Dad takes the spoon back, and he lets Dad feed him.

Dad scrapes all the mush out of the bowl and gives him every last bite. Dad even lets him grab the spoon again, to try and use it himself to get the last tiny morsels. He manages to catch one on the spoon. He holds it out to Dad.  _ Food for Dad? _

Dad only takes the spoon and bowl away. He puts them in the sink and rinses them clean before turning around and putting him back in the pod. The pod follows him back to the window-room, where the blue starlines are still shimmering outside. The pod settles back into the back chair when Dad motions with his hand, and then Dad sits back in his chair in the front.

Something beeps at Dad, and he flips switches and presses buttons and pulls a lever. The starlines go away, and now there is only black filled with tiny white stars. A grey planet swirled with white and red is ahead.

He barely pays attention to it, though. His eyes are back on the pretty silver ball.

Dad isn’t looking at him, only at the buttons and screens in front of his chair. Carefully, he stands and climbs out of the pod, clinging to the rim for just a moment to make sure he’s ready to land lightly, like he always does. A few steps forward, and now he is closer to the beautiful ball.

Something beeps at Dad and a small blue hologram-person starts talking to him. He doesn’t listen, though, too focused on climbing up the console to where the ball is. It’s no harder than getting out of his pod, and he makes it all the way up to finally grasp the shiny ball. It’s stuck on a stick, but when he twists it, it comes off easily. The ball is his!

He tastes it and it’s definitely metallic, smooth and cool and wonderful. He glances up at Dad to tell him  _ Ball! _ and that’s when Dad finally looks over. Dad takes it out of his hands before he can protest, setting it back on the console. “It’s not a toy,” he says, and then Dad grabs him by the collar and puts him back in his pod.  _ Hey! _

The pretty shiny ball is still gleaming on the console. Dad looks back, his helmet shining just like the ball.  _ Dad, ball, _ he pleads, but Dad turns away. He sinks down in his pod, ears drooping. He doesn’t understand. Dad’s words sounded maybe-mad, but Dad doesn’t feel mad. He doesn’t understand what Dad is feeling right now at all, and usually he can tell what people are feeling at least a little bit.

He’s distracted from his pouting a few minutes later when the starry sky lightens into blue and white clouds swirl in front of the windows. He sits up to see and the clouds break, showing a long stretch of grey land that gets closer and closer until the ship lands with a thump that rattles his pod. He giggles at the sensation.  _ Fun! Again! _ he coos at Dad, but Dad doesn’t acknowledge him at all.

Dad presses lots of buttons and the ship goes quiet. Finally Dad turns around, pressing a button on the pod before standing.  _ Let’s go, Dad! _ he says.  _ Where are we going? _

Dad stares at him. There are so many feelings and he doesn’t understand any of them. He reaches out.  _ Dad? _

Dad walks away, and the pod follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: He and Dad are going somewhere new! Dad always takes him to fun places. This place will be fun too.... right?
> 
> Hope you have enjoyed so far! I look forward to your tears in the future. >:)


	2. The Leaving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dad has brought him to a new place with new people. But he has a bad feeling about this...

They step outside and the first thing he feels is the wind. It blows so hard it makes his ears flap, and he has to blink dust from his eyes. He won’t close them, though, there’s too much to see!

He looks back at the ship they just left and he was right, they were in the shiny silver building-that-was-really-a-spaceship. He likes it; it matches Dad’s shiny helmet. Maybe later, when they come back, Dad will let him have the silver ball, and he can match Dad too.

There’s another gust of wind and he looks up to see another spaceship landing. Beyond it is a big stone arch and a place full of lots of people! They go there and all the people are walking and talking, a mess of noise and feelings and presence, and he loves it. They are all so different! Hair and skin in different colors, long tentacles and big ears and hairy beards, beeping droids and chattering people, yummy smells and bright colors. He sees two mean people in brown robes, but they are talking to someone else and don’t bother Dad. He spots another person, someone shorter than Dad but wearing a helmet over its whole face just like Dad does.  _ Look, Dad, what’s that? _ he asks, looking up at Dad, but Dad doesn’t look at him at all.

He sinks back into the pod. He still doesn’t understand what Dad is feeling, but he is starting to get a bad feeling himself.

They walk a long ways, until there are less and less people and droids, and finally none. The walls and roads are dingy brown stone, reminding him of the path that led to the hole with the scary monster in it. He’s with Dad, though. Dad will keep him safe.

Dad stops at a door and knocks on it. When he steps back, a red eye pops out of it and talks to them! He gasps; he’s never seen anything like it! Dad holds up a card for it to see, and then the eye goes back in its hole.

_ What’s that? _ he asks Dad, but before he gets an answer, the door opens and two people come out.

These people wear armor like Dad, but they are not like Dad. Their armor is dirty white, not metal like Dad's, and their helmets are a different shape. They both stare at him, and he doesn’t like it.

One of them turns around and goes back inside.  _ Dad! _ he says, but Dad doesn’t respond, and whether he wants it or not, his pod goes into the door after the white armor person, and Dad follows after. The door closes, and suddenly everything is a lot darker.

The white armor person in front grabs his pod, shaking it, and he swallows the squeak he wants to make and tries not to think of Yarull doing that when he was getting mad.

“Easy with that,” says Dad.

_ “You _ take it easy,” says the white armor person.

They go into a new room, one with more light, and he hears beeping, like the sound that came with the people with big sticks Dad had made Gone. An old man with white hair is holding the beeping, and he walks up to the pod, repeating, “Yes, yes, yes.”

_ Yes? _ he repeats at White Hair. The little box in White Hair’s hand is still beeping. He wonders if Dad is going to make White Hair disappear-Gone with his rifle, like the people with sticks.

Another man sticks his head in front of the pod, one wearing glasses on his face. Glasses shines a red light in his face, and he flinches. It hurts his eyes and he doesn’t like it. Glasses smiles. “Very healthy. Yes.”

White Hair stands and says to Dad, “Your reputation was not unwarranted.”

“How many fobs did you give out?” asks Dad.

“This asset was of extreme importance to me. I had to ensure its delivery.” White Hair walks away, and gets out a big white container. “But to the winner, go the spoils.”

He can hear the container opening, but he can’t see what’s inside. Glasses is still in his face and won’t move. He sees Dad walk past, though, over to the container. Dad wants whatever is inside. It’s the only feeling he can understand out of all the feelings Dad has right now.

Glasses finally moves, but then the pod does too. The pod is following Glasses! It’s not supposed to do that; it’s supposed to follow Dad!  _ No, no, _ he whines at Glasses, but the pod keeps following Glasses. He can see Dad, still standing by White Hair, something shiny in his hand.  _ Dad! _ he shouts, and Dad stares at him.

But Dad doesn’t move. Dad doesn’t go get the pod, or yell at White Hair, or make Glasses disappear-Gone with his rifle that makes pretty gold sparkles. He waits for Dad to stop them, to come get him. Dad yelled  _ Get away from it! _ at the mean people who got too close to him. Dad protected him from Droid, from the people with sticks, from the big scary monster. Dad is supposed to keep him safe!

The door closes behind the pod.

He can’t see Dad anymore. He’s all alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Trapped in the clutches of more mean people, all he wants is to find his dad. And if he cannot find him, he's going to raise hell until he does.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed/suffered from this chapter! Bring unto me your tears!! >:)


	3. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Dad will not come get him, then he will go find him, and no one is going to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is child abuse in this chapter. It's nothing more extreme than what Baby Yoda has previously described happening to him, but it is onscreen this time.

More people in white armor walk past him and Glasses. He doesn’t pay attention to them. His hands are curled tight around his blanket, but he can barely see it because his eyes are wet and his vision is swimming. He wants  _ Dad. _ Why didn’t Dad come get him?

He wails, but the pod keeps following Glasses. Glasses keeps turning around to look at him. He wishes the pod would be closed. He wants to hide until Dad comes back.

Glasses finally stops in a little room, filled with a huge bed and a big black ball that floats in the corner and decorated with blinking lights on the wall. The pod stops by the bed, and Glasses reaches out for him. He recoils.  _ No! _

Glasses hesitates, but tries to grab him again. He swipes at Glasses with his claws, leaving white marks on the brown skin. “Ouch!” says Glasses, jumping back and clutching his hand.

He growls at Glasses. _ Stay away! _ Glasses tries to grab him again, and he claws at the hand. But this time Glasses dodges him, grabbing his coat collar and lifting him up instead, depositing him on the bed.

One of the white armor people pokes his head in. “What’re you squeaking at now, scientist?”

Glasses huffs at them. “Dispose of this,” he says, shoving the pod at him, and the white armor person takes the pod away.

No! That’s  _ his _ pod, and  _ his _ blanket is inside! It’s his and he’s supposed to be in it right now. Yarull said so, and Dad wanted him to stay in the pod too.  _ Give it back! _

Glasses turns around and gives him a smile, but he doesn’t like it or trust it.  _ Give it back! _ he repeats. His fingers curl and he wants to hold his blanket tight. For once, he wants Yarull to say it’s quiet time, and he wants to hide in the pod until everyone else goes away.

“Now, now, you’re all right,” says Glasses. Glasses pulls out his red light again and shines it in his face, and all over him. The red light hurts his eyes and makes him blink. Water drips out onto his cheeks.

“So you have tear ducts,” says Glasses. Glasses wipes the water from his cheeks with the corner of the blanket on the bed. It’s dark-brown-grey, like Dad’s cloak. He clutches this blanket instead.

Glasses gingerly pats his head, stopping when he jerks away from Glasses’ hand. “Quick reflexes,” says Glasses. “You’re quite sharp. I wonder about your cognitive function.”

Glasses gets another tool out of a bag, and this time tries to catch one of his ears. He pulls away, but Glasses doesn’t let go, and it  _ hurts. _ He screams loudly, and this time Glasses does let go.

“Shush-shush,” says Glasses, trying to poke the tool into his ear. He drops the blanket and scoots away, but this time Glasses grabs his coat collar and holds him still. The cold metal touches the inside of his ear and he  _ shrieks. _ He hates it! _ Don’t touch me! _

“The hell is that noise?” says a voice, and the same white armor person from before pokes his head in again. “Is that the… thing?”

“Quite a set of lungs, isn’t it?” says Glasses. Glasses lets go and he hurries away to the edge of the bed, but finds himself standing before the white armor person. The helmet looming above him tilts curiously. He hisses at it. This helmet is white and ugly, not shiny and pretty.

White Armor pokes him right in the face! He falls back with a squawk of surprise.  _ Don’t! _ he yells, and he thrusts out his hand and pushes back.

White Armor stumbles back. “What the -” He looks over at Glasses then points back at him. “Did you see that?!”

“Amazing!” says Glasses, rushing over. Glasses picks him back up and he’s too disoriented to fight him. Glasses holds him up, turning him and looking, though he doesn’t know what for. “He really is the specimen we need.”

Glasses leans in closer. Too close. He swipes his hand, and this time catches the glasses and rips them right off of Glasses’ stupid face.

White Armor howls with laughter as Glasses sets him down and scurries off to find his glasses. He doesn’t like either of them and he doesn’t want either of them. He wants his pod, he wants his blanket, he wants his Dad, and if they won’t come back he will have to go find them.

He makes it to the edge of the bed and is getting ready to climb down when the door opens and White Hair walks in.

White Armor and Glasses immediately straighten. Silence and a heavy feeling descend on them both. His ears perk up. Maybe White Hair is going to make them take him back to Dad?

“You were so desperate to have it alive, and you have yet to start your work?” asks White Hair.

“Initial observations,” says Glasses quickly. He is happy and excited, even with White Hair there. “The asset just displayed Force sensitivity. He already has some degree of control over his powers.”

“Yes, sir,” says White Armor. “He pushed me. I felt it.”

“Then it is all the more urgent you get to work,” said White Hair. He feels a chill at the words. A bad feeling. Suddenly he knows White Hair isn’t going to take him back to Dad.

“Please,” says Glasses. “A live specimen will be so much more valuable. Surely Moff Gideon sees the benefits. Multiple samples, the ability to harvest more at any time, continued study of a rare species -”

“You can vivisect it at your leisure. First you must extract the materials you have been ordered to,” said White Hair.

White Armor and Glasses are both focusing on White Hair. White Hair is focused on them. They are all talking. No one is looking at him.

He wants Dad.

He looks down. The ground is far away, but he can land lightly. He always lands lightly. Carefully, just like he climbs out of the pod, he slides over the edge and clings until his feet are ready. Then he drops, making himself slow just enough. His feet sting a little but he’s fine.

“Where is it?” demands White Hair.

Glasses and White Armor spin around and he ducks under the bed. He watches them hurry to the bed, looking for him in the blanket. He runs right past them, just like Dad after the big building, straight for the door.

“There!” says one of them but he doesn’t care which. White Hair hits a control panel but he runs faster, faster, and slips out of the room just before the door closes.

He’s in a hallway now, another door ahead. His ears perk up. Maybe he can find his way back to the big room, where White Hair had the container. Maybe Dad is still there!

The door behind him opens and he ducks behind a nearby crate. White Hair and Glasses and White Armor are all shouting at each other, and White Armor runs away yelling something about lockdown. White Hair grabs Glasses by the collar. “Find it,” he hisses, “or it’s  _ you _ I’ll deliver to Moff Gideon!” He pushes Glasses away and leaves, shouting about search parties down the hall.

Glasses trembles, and he can feel that Glasses is scared. Glasses ducks back inside the room with the bed. Now’s his chance! He steps out from behind the crate. The hallway is empty. He tries to remember the way back to Dad. He’s pretty sure this is the way, and he heads down the hall.

He only makes it a short distance before he hears someone shout “There it is!” He turns to look and two more White Armors are behind him. He squeaks and runs faster.

A hand swipes out and brushes his coat! He squeals in alarm and tries to duck behind a crate, but white boots block his way. “Get it! Get it!” yells the White Armor in front of him, and he turns just in time to dodge another hand swooping down to catch him. He runs between the white boots and ducks behind the nearest crate. They’re too big. They can’t get him here!

A horrible scraping noise and the crate moves away from the wall. No fair! He scurries away again from the snatching hands, heading for another crate ahead. There are a whole stack of them. If he can hide in the middle, maybe they will leave him alone.

“Damn, it’s fast!”

“Grab it!”

He races for the crates. Fingers hook in his collar but he shakes them off. He’s almost there!

The white boot comes out of nowhere and kicks him, hard. He flies back with a screech and lands hard, clutching his belly. It hurts!

“I said grab it, not kick it! It’s not supposed to be damaged!”

“Oh please, as if Pershing can’t fix that.”

The boots come closer, stomp-stomping loudly. His claws scrabble on the hard floor as he pushes himself to his feet. He has to find Dad. Dad will stop them. Dad will turn them into sparkles if they try to hurt him again.

But a hand grabs his collar, and this time he finds himself up in the air, face to face with an ugly white helmet. “Gotcha, you little monkey-lizard,” says this White Armor. He looks at the other White Armor. “Thinks it tastes as good as roasted Kowakian?”

He wriggles, trying to get out of White Armor’s grasp. _ Let go! _

“Hey! Stop that!” White Armor shakes him violently; his vision spins and his middle hurts worse.

“Don’t hurt him!” Glasses is coming up behind them now, trailed by the big black ball. It’s not a ball at all but a droid, carrying silver tools and a pointy needle. Glasses has a needle in his hands too. “Hold him still so I can sedate him.”

The White Armors move and the needle gets close. Every instinct inside is screaming bad, bad, bad!  _ No! _ he shouts, and he pushes them all back.

He drops to the floor and manages to make himself land lightly. He doesn’t bother to look back at the others. He runs.

“Did you see that?!”

“What the hell?!”

“I need both of you to submit your bodycam footage to my records as soon as you can. For now, if you can catch him, I can sedate him.”

He ducks behind another crate but he still runs. They are bigger and faster than him and he has to find Dad. Dad is big and fast too. Dad can stop them.

He can hear boots behind him, Glasses and the White Armors shouting, but all he does is run. He ducks in between crates and junk left on the floor, dodging grasping hands and stomping feet. There is a door ahead! The door to the big room!  _ Dad! _ he shouts.  _ Dad! _

He makes it to the door, but it doesn’t open. The lights on the panel by it are red, locked, like the doors would be when Yarull made him hide in the pod from the booming. Glasses and the White Armors are close!  _ Open! _ he tells the door, waving his hand. It doesn’t move, and that makes him mad.  _ OPEN! _

The door slides open with a screech and a shower of sparks. He runs through without hesitating, escaping the fingers brushing the back of his coat.

He is in the big room now. Just like he remembers, it is mostly empty except for White Hair’s big desk. Dad was standing there when Glasses took him away. But Dad is not there anymore.

_ Dad! _ he shouts.  _ Dad! DAD! _

He walks over in front of the desk. Dad was here; he can feel the echo of Dad’s presence. But Dad is gone now. Dad didn’t wait for him. Dad didn’t go looking for him.

Dad  _ left _ him.

He looks up and there are lots of White Armors all around him now, tall and scary. He raises his hand and tries to push them away, but it doesn’t work. He’s so tired. He just wants to go home, but he doesn’t even know where that would be. He can’t even hide in his pod anymore.

“Easy,” says Glasses. “Don’t startle him.”

The White Armors are getting closer, closer, looming above him. He doesn’t have a choice but to keep running. He bolts.

But this time his tired feet stumble, and hands catch him and he is lifted up in the air. He squirms and tries to get out but they are ready; more hands hold him still, and Glasses gets close again with his needle.

He fights harder but another hand is holding his arm, pulling up his sleeve.  _ No! No! Let go! _ he shrieks, but no one listens.

“Easy, now, you’re all right,” says Glasses. His voice is nice but Glasses is lying and he knows it. He fights and tries to pull his arm away but the needle pokes him and he  _ screams, _ he wants Dad he wants Yarull he wants the others from long ago, the two with green skin and floppy ears like him who held him close and never hurt him someone anyone help help  _ help _ -

Glasses is talking but the words blur together and he can’t hear them and all the faces are blurring blurring and his limbs are heavy and won’t move anymore and he’s so tired, so tired, so tired and sleepy… 

_ Dad, _ he squeaks out, and then he knows nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, bring unto me your tears! >:)
> 
> Edit: Thanks to iggemmeil for helping me remember to add that the stormtrooper that kicks Baby Yoda? Yeah, that's the one that gets slowly roasted alive by Din's flamethrower. There is some justice in the galaxy.
> 
> Next time: Strange dreams and a happy realization.


	4. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad dreams, happy dreams, or are they dreams at all?

He dreams of running, of being chased. But his legs are too slow and the world is too big. Hands always catch him, poke him, trap him. Scary people grab him, pull him away from… someone. Someone who doesn’t want him to be scared or hurt or sad. 

His head is mushy and he feels fuzzy-sleepy but he knows there’s someone out there who doesn’t want the scary people to have him. Someone who wears shiny metal and won’t let mean people or scary monsters get him. Or maybe it was two someones, with green skin and big floppy ears and kind smiles and warm arms. He barely remembers but they were there before Yarull, before he knew what spaceships and blasters were, before he ever felt anyone being Gone.

_ I protected him! _ someone shouts.  _ If it wasn’t for me, he’d already be dead! _

His dream changes. Someone is holding him close and safe, wrapped in a warm blanket. Fire shines light on silver metal, like Dad’s helmet. He presses his face to it, and even though it’s cool and hard it’s soothing. Dad didn’t want him to be scared or hurt or sad, but Dad left him… 

_ Wait. What I’m holding is very valuable. _

Someone picks him up, cradles him close in warm arms. He can sense life, a beating heart, and that’s not a dream, is it? It’s not seeing or hearing or smelling but that other sense he has no name for, but that never lies to him. Someone is holding him who wants him safe, wants him happy, wants him close.

He likes this dream. He doesn’t want it to end… 

He can hear explosions now, and shouting. Gold sparkles dance on the inside of his eyelids. The noise is loud, pounding on his head, and even the ground he’s on feels like it’s shaking and moving until suddenly it stops with a shudder. More light and noise and fire, more noise and noise and  _ noise, _ so much that it feels real and not a dream. But he was dreaming! Or is he? His head hurts and he feels so fuzzy…

Something is moving by him. He can feel it, someone’s arm next to him, nudging the blanket. That’s real! He’s awake, he’s not dreaming! He opens his eyes.

Dad is there.

How can Dad be here? Dad left him all alone in the scary building. But he knows he’s not dreaming. He knows that silver helmet, he knows that presence through the sense he cannot name. It is singing in his mind that this is him, this is Dad. It’s Dad! Dad came back!

_ Dad, Dad, you’re here! _ he tells him.

Dad doesn’t say anything, but the hand touching his head is enough for him to know that Dad is telling him  _ yes, yes I am here. I came back. _

A light shines behind Dad’s head and suddenly there are more explosions, bright white light. They make Dad happy, and he’s happy too.

He’s happier still when he hears the familiar sound of Dad’s blaster, and the sound of Dad’s voice. It’s too loud to hear the words, but Dad picks him up again and holds him close and runs. He peeks out from the blanket and sees the silver spaceship. Home. Dad is taking him home.

The movement makes him dizzy and he squeezes his eyes shut. He hears some voice talking angrily, but Dad holds him close and he doesn’t care. Dad has him. He’s safe now. It’s no surprise when he hears blaster sounds and the voice stops. Dad can stop anything.

Dad sets him down and he hears the ship rumble to life. He sits up, wriggling out of the blanket, and almost tips off of the chair he finds himself in. Things look wobbly if he moves too fast, and his arm still stings.

The chair is swaying with the ship’s movement and it makes him feel dizzy, so he climbs off, careful to land lightly although it’s hard to stand. Dad is busy flying, not paying attention to him when he looks up. He sees the pretty clouds and sky out the window. They are leaving this place with the scary building and the White Armors. He watches the dark clouds lighten, and the sun shines through, making Dad gleam silver.

He sees another glint of silver, and his eyes land on the beautiful shiny ball.

“I gotta get one of those,” says Dad, and he agrees. He stumbles forward, starting to climb. He wants the ball.

Dad reaches for it first, and for a moment he thinks he won’t get it again. But Dad unscrews it and drops it into his hand. He giggles out of sheer delight from the familiar cool smoothness, and drops to the floor to taste it again. The lights from the ship’s switches and buttons make it sparkle with new colors. It’s so pretty.

The light outside changes, and blue starlines stream past. The sight makes him dizzy, and he stumbles and falls straight into Dad’s boot. The ball rolls away.

Dad reaches down and picks him up. He looks and finally sees that Dad is different now, silver and shiny all over, every piece matching his helmet.  _ I like it, Dad, _ he tells him.

Dad doesn’t say anything but holds him close, safe and secure in his arms. Gentle hands pat his back and cradle his head. He doesn’t know why Dad left him in the scary building with the White Armors, but he doesn't care. Right now, he knows - he _knows_ \- that Dad is never going to leave him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this end was emotionally satisfying and worth all the pain I dragged you through earlier. :D
> 
> Next up: Episode 4 Sanctuary, or Dad takes Baby to a new place that is actually fun this time.  
> Unfortunately I've fallen behind on my buffer/writing speed in general due to the misfortune of being an Adult Working Full Time so the wait may be longer for this one. Be sure to subscribe to the series if you want to keep getting notifications, because each episode is its own work.
> 
> In the meantime if you want to find me on Tumblr, you can hit up my art blog [Oops I Arted.](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/) It is also mostly Mandalorian content right now because I'm still obsessed.
> 
> Edit: Tumblr link should work now. :)


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